


Test Match

by faithinthepoor



Series: Once Upon a Time [23]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-13
Updated: 2013-02-13
Packaged: 2017-11-29 03:36:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/682287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faithinthepoor/pseuds/faithinthepoor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set during The Cricket Game</p>
            </blockquote>





	Test Match

**Author's Note:**

> In my series this follows my [Fairytale Drabbles](http://archiveofourown.org/works/618763), [Mirror Mirror](http://archiveofourown.org/works/618771), [This Provincial Life](http://archiveofourown.org/works/618775), [Viviane or Nimue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/618809), [Dreams and Wishes](http://archiveofourown.org/works/618851), [All the Better To….](http://archiveofourown.org/works/619484), [Magic Keys](http://archiveofourown.org/works/619497), [Curiouser and Curiouser](http://archiveofourown.org/works/619514), [Snow Blind](http://archiveofourown.org/works/620280), [Spinning Straw](http://archiveofourown.org/works/620288), [Wooden Hearts](http://archiveofourown.org/works/621128), [Poisoned](http://archiveofourown.org/works/622526), [True Love and Other Curses](http://archiveofourown.org/works/625038), [Spellbound](http://archiveofourown.org/works/628806), [Over the Rainbow](http://archiveofourown.org/works/630076), [Facades](http://archiveofourown.org/works/632227), [Lost Girls](http://archiveofourown.org/works/636939), [Monstrosities](http://archiveofourown.org/works/640162), [Love and Lies](http://archiveofourown.org/works/652912), [Something Wicked this Way Comes](http://archiveofourown.org/works/665458), [Dreamscapes](http://archiveofourown.org/works/672345) and [Homecomings](http://archiveofourown.org/works/676052)

She’d known that if things didn’t change that she would end up spending most of her time trying to come up with excuses to see Regina. She’d thought any excuse would do but apparently that idea was a little too simplistic because it turns out that some excuses are not at all good. Emma is about to see Regina, which is all she ever wanted, but it’s because Regina is currently sitting in the interview room about to be accused of murder. 

She didn’t even get a chance to warn the would be suspect because before she knew what was happening Ruby had called in the cavalry and David and Mary Margaret had taken over. The vultures were circling and they were positively giddy with excitement. They demanded that Regina be hauled in immediately and Emma didn’t even find the opportunity to send Regina a text. ‘So much for the good guys’ Emma thought to herself as she followed their lead.

She enters the room with David and Regina looks up at them with disdain. “Glad to see the Sheriff’s Station’s now a family business. Why am I here?” Regina is glib but she is also calm and Emma is certain that Regina has absolutely no idea what is coming and that only increases Emma’s guilt. She should have tried harder to find a way contact Regina.

“You know why you’re here. Because of Archie.”

“What so now it’s against the law to get into an argument with someone?” Emma nearly smiles because if that were the case Regina would constantly be in prison.

“It is if you go to their office later that night and kill them,” David says.

Regina looks legitimately shocked “Archie’s dead?”

“Stop it Regina,” David replies. It appears that he has decided he is in charge of this interrogation and it grates on Emma’s nerves no end. He may have been a big deal back in the Enchanted Forest but here Emma is the law. She was voted Sheriff, not him, but that doesn’t stop him overstepping his bounds. “Ruby saw you going into his office last night.” 

“Then she’s lying. I was home all evening.” Regina seems scared and Emma sits on the table, she needs to be close to her. Regina looks up at her and Emma once again feels that she is failing Regina. “After everything I’ve done to change, to win Henry back, why would I toss it all away now? And if I did and I was going to kill Archie you would never know it. The fact that he’s dead and you caught me shows sloppiness.”

“You’ve been caught before,” David says smugly and Emma wishes that she wasn’t related to him. Regina looks at David like she wants to kill him, which is not the best move for someone suspected of murder. “Come on Emma who do you think’s lying? Ruby or her? She’s incapable of change, no matter how many times we’ve given her the chance. Why should this time be any different?”

Emma is really starting to dislike her ‘father’. She wants to find a way to kick him out of the station but the best she can do is to get him away from Regina.

She leaves Regina sitting alone as she goes to talk to David and Mary Margaret in the observation area. Emma tries not to look through the window because she knows it will unravel her. She does her best to sound professional as she tells her parents that she knows Regina didn’t do it, that she believes in her and that here she is not the queen, she’s just Regina. These are not empty words and they are not the product of blind faith, she knows Regina didn’t kill Archie.

It’s not that she believes that Regina is incapable of killing, or of lying, Emma knows that darkness still bubbles inside Regina but she also knows that when Regina wants someone gone they simply disappear. Dead bodies are not Regina’s style, especially not dead bodies left at crime scenes. If Regina had killed Archie they would not even be able to prove that he was dead and she would be rubbing it in their faces, taunting them with her concern over the missing doctor.

There are a lot of things that Emma doesn’t know about Regina but she is sad to say that she knows how Regina behaves when she believes she is involved in someone’s death. That’s probably not a sign of an altogether healthy relationship but right now they have bigger issues. First and foremost on that list is the fact that she knows that Regina isn’t lying. Regina was home last night. All night. Emma doesn’t just know this because of her gift, she know this because she was there. 

In complete violation of her agreement with Regina, Emma had called her and to her surprise and relief Regina had answered. “What’s the emergency Sheriff Swan?”

“I missed the sound of your voice.”

There was a pause on the line and Emma was convinced that Regina was going to hang up. Instead she asked Emma, “Do you not get the concept of no contact?”

“I get the concept. I’m not stupid. I’m just missing you like crazy.”

“Emma we saw one another last night.”

“I know. That’s twenty-four whole hours without you.” She still feels bad about the party. Emma’s heart had raced when Regina arrived. She’d begun to think Regina wouldn’t show and in retrospect that would probably have been for the best but Emma was delighted to have Regina there and even more delighted to be able to announce that she had invited her. 

As the night wore on she had started to realise that her wish had been selfish. It was hard to watch the way Regina was treated. It must be close to impossible to redeem yourself when the only responses people have to you are hostility and fear. 

David and Mary Margaret didn’t make things any easier. Their displays of publication affection were sickening to Emma and she can only imagine how Regina must have felt having to witness the constant conoodling and finger feeding. 

Running out after Regina was the wrong thing to do. She knew how miserable Regina must have been but she really wanted her to stay. Her actions nearly promoted the fight that Regina insists they need to have. It would have been so easy to let it happen, anger had flown between the two of them and they had a willing audience close at hand. Emma couldn’t go through with it though and she can only assume that Regina felt the same. The party had meaning, it was attached to something important, and it seems neither one of them were prepared to let that go.

Emma tried but failed push the memory of the party out of her mind. She gripped her phone harder and said, “I’m sorry the party was so hard on you.”

“I’m still glad that you invited me.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“It meant a lot to me that you wanted me there.”

“I didn’t think about what torture it would be for you.”

“And I didn’t think that you would have cleared my attendance with Dr Hopper.”

Regina had sounded pissed at her which was completely unfair. “I was trying to think what a person who wasn’t in love with Regina Mills would do. I thought you would approve.”

“Whilst I applaud your industriousness you do realise that you left me in the unfortunate position of having to have words with Dr Hopper, don’t you?”

“I heard about your little run in with him.”

“News travels fast,” Regina stated bitterly, “but I couldn’t have him thinking it was okay to share my secrets with you.”

“You have secrets from me?” Emma quipped.

“Of course not. I’m a completely open book,” Regina sassed back.

“I still think I should get points for trying to do the right thing with respect to your attendance at the party and I definitely think you should give me points for not chasing you down the street when you finally left Granny’s.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.”

“I wanted to. It was so hard not to run you down and do you against the nearest wall.”

“I probably would have let you,” Regina confessed, “so it is very much for the best that you didn’t chase me.”

“Not from where I’m standing.”

“And where are you standing?” Regina asked with an undeniably seductive tone to her voice.

“Outside your back door.”

“Emma,” Regina’s voice dropped to a whisper, “you know you can’t be here.”

“And yet here I am.”

“You have to go,” Regina implored her.

“I’m not leaving so you have to make a choice. Either you let me in or I move around to your front door and I make sure that I draw attention to myself.”

“How do you know that you’ve not already done that?” Regina sounded annoyed but Emma could tell through the changes in her voice that Regina was at least on the move.

“Are you doubting my stealth skills?”

“Because those are so legendary,” Regina’s tone was mocking.

“Hey, I’ll have you know that I used to be a thief.”

“A thief who went to jail,” Regina reminded her.

“We all have bad days.”

“Well this better not be one of those.” Regina unlatched the back door and reluctantly let Emma inside.

Emma ended the call and placed her phone in her pocket. “You don’t look happy to see me.”

“I’m not.”

“You sure know how to make a girl feel good about herself.”

Regina grabbed Emma’s arm and dragged her into the house, away from the windows. “What do you think you’re playing at? You know you can’t be here.”

“I couldn’t stay away,” she said simply.

Regina’s face softened but her eyes look haunted. “Oh Emma, what are we going to do?”

“I can think of a few things.”

“This is dangerous,” Regina eyed her suspiciously. “Is that why you are here? Are you somehow excited by all of this?”

“I’m here because I can’t not be here.”

“Well then we are fucked,” Regina said sadly.

“Don’t think that.”

“How can I not?”

“We will find away to make this work.”

“Emma the only thing we need to make work at the moment is staying away from one another.”

“Well clearly I need more practice because I am no good at that,” Emma traced her finger along the neckline of Regina’s satin pyjamas.

‘We can’t do this. Not now.”

Emma leant in and left her lips a hairsbreadth away from Regina’s, “Are you going to make me go?”

“I should.”

“Is that what you want?”

“God no,” Regina cried and claimed Emma’s mouth. Emma pushed Regina up against the wall and ripped her shirt apart. Buttons scattered to the four corners and Regina gave her the glare that she reserves just for this circumstance. “You will be finding each and every one of those later.”

“Totally worth it,” Emma murmured as she fell to her knees and slid Regina’s pants down her body. Her nose nudged at the cotton between Regina thighs before she ran her tongue over the material. “Tell me again why we shouldn’t be doing this.”

“I have no idea,” Regina admitted as she grabbed Emma’s head and pulled her closer.

“That’s my girl,” Emma told her as she peeled the last vestige of Regina’s clothing away. 

“I think I should feel a little bad about myself that I have let you strip me whilst you are fully clothed Sheriff.”

“And do you?” Emma asked between swipes of her tongue.

“Do I what?” Regina asked in return. Her voice was deep and husky and she appeared to be struggling to form her words.

“Feel bad?”

“Most definitely not,” Regina said with a sharp a gasp.

“Good to know,” Emma replied and then sucked at a swollen bundle of nerves causing Regina to gasp again.

Emma pushed her tongue inside Regina and Regina’s hands clutched at her shoulders. Emma absently thought that she was glad that she had her jacket on because if Regina had have been clawing at her flesh in that way she would be sure to have left a mark. Regina’s actions gave Emma an idea and she used her shoulder to push Regina’s legs further apart and began to suck firmly on Regina’s inner thigh.

“What are you doing?” Regina asked through teeth that were clearly gritted.

“Leaving my mark on you. Don’t worry I’m not going to neglect other import areas,” Emma assured her as she moved her fingers through Regina’s wet folds and returned her mouth to Regina’s skin.

“You don’t need to mark me.”

“It’s not like I’m tattooing ‘Emma was here’ on you.”

“That’s not what I meant. You don’t need to mark me because I’m already yours.”

Emma’s head swam at those words but she made a few more firm sucks before soothing the skin with her tongue and then sealing the area with a kiss. She focused her attention back on Regina’s clitoris and heard the brunette’s moan of approval. Emma smiled in response but quickly returned to her task.

She alternated between circling her tongue around the bud and licking across it. Regina squirmed against her and her breath was coming out in pants. Emma sucked firmly at Regina’s clitoris once again and Regina shuddered. She screamed Emma’s name as her orgasm crested and then slid down the wall to join Emma on the floor.

Emma moved to sit beside Regina, she stroked her hair and kissed her temple. “So do you still think I shouldn’t be here?”

“Yes but I have to say that I’m glad you ignored me dearest.”

“Good because I want to stay.”

Regina sighed. “Emma we are little too old for sleepovers.”

“Who said anything about sleep?”

“I don’t want my actions to mislead you,” Regina said as she turned to Emma and pushed her jacket off her shoulders, “we should not be doing this.” 

“Understood,” Emma confirmed. “I can document that for you somewhere if you like.”

“Maybe later,” Regina replied as she pulled Emma’s shirt over her head and pushed her to the floor. Regina placed herself on top of Emma and then kissed her soundly. “But Emma this has to be the last time we do this.”

“Not the last,” Emma’s breath hitched as Regina pulled the blonde’s bra down and sucked at her nipple.

Regina raised her head, “Ok not the last but the last for now.”

Regina put her head back down and all thoughts of endings feel out of Emma’s mind. That’s how she knows that Regina didn’t kill Archie. Regina didn’t leave the house last night. Regina didn’t even leave the floor.

She can’t reveal the truth to David and Mary Margaret, Regina would never allow that, so she has to find another way to clear Regina’s name. She tells herself that it shouldn’t be hard, after all it’s impossible for there to be any proof that Regina was involved in the killing. 

It turns out that she was wrong about that too. Apparently in Storybrooke logic simply does not apply because even though she knows Regina is innocent her three musketeer style investigation team has found evidence that suggests otherwise. Emma knows that there is magic in play just like she knows that what she saw in the dreamcatcher didn’t happen. 

It was hard to have to watch Regina kill Archie but it’s harder to know that everyone believes the lie to be true. There is no way out of this. Regina is firm in her fear about Cora and Emma knows that Regina would die before she would let Emma be her alibi. Emma also knows that there is a possibility that this may actually happen.

She wants to go to Regina immediately. She wants to be able to fix this thing that seems unfixable. If her parents would just let her do her job she might actually stand a chance but they act like this is their personal crusade instead of her investigation.

Emma is scared when Mary Margaret suggests they use fairy dust to take Regina’s powers. She doesn’t want to leave Regina defenceless but she can’t work out a way to protest. She has to go along with the plan and all she can do is take comfort in the fact that right now arresting Regina will be the safest thing for her.

When she arrives at Regina’s with her entourage she feels like Judas. She can try and tell herself that she is here for the right reasons but it doesn’t work, she knows that really she is here to betray Regina.

Regina opens the door and Emma wants to tell her to run. Regina looks at the gathering in front of her as though this is nothing but a minor annoyance and Emma wishes there was some way to tell her about the danger that she is in.

“Miss Swan.” Regina looks around at her and her companions. “I assume you are here to apologise.” Regina’s tone is condescending and for a moment Emma can understand why people hate her so much.

“I saw you do it.”

“What?” Regina asks with a shake of her head.

“I saw it. You choked the life out of Archie.” She wishes she could have had a chance to explain what has happened because this must make absolutely no sense to Regina. 

“What are you talking about? How is that even possible?”

“Magic,” David unhelpfully provides. Regina looks confused and concerned and Emma is hating every single second of this charade. 

“I saw what happened and it was you.” Emma tries to force the images out of her head. She knows it wasn’t Regina, it can’t have been, but it’s still disturbs her to have watched Regina kill someone.

“Gold,” Regina spits the word out. “He helped you. You’re going to trust him of all people when he’s probably the one behind this.” Regina actually looks like she’s hoping that it’s Gold because if it’s not him they both know what that means. 

Mary Margaret decides that it’s her turn to butt in and she tells Regina, “We didn’t trust him. That’s why Emma used magic instead.”

“You can use magic?” Regina asks and the look on her face appears to be a combination of horror and arousal. Emma can’t suppress the smirk that crosses her features, nor can she suppress the thoughts of what they could do together with their magic. If Mary Margaret and David weren’t there Emma would throw Regina to the ground right now. “The saviour. Of course. Well I can only assume that he warned you then.”

“About what?”

“That magic always comes with a price.” Emma knows that Regina’s words aren’t specific to the argument. Magic has burned Regina badly and underneath her bravado Emma can tell that Regina is concerned that the same may happen to her. 

“Yeah well that’s a price we’re both going to pay,” she mutters frustrated that she can’t find a way to reassure Regina.

“How’s that?”

“Henry. He believed in you. His heart’s going to break. That’s both our prices.”

“No. I will not let you poison Henry against me,” Regina sounds desperate. 

“It’s an interesting word choice since you already did,” Emma knows they planned to stage a fight and the universe has handed the opportunity to them on a platter but she feels as though she has gone too far. That was a low blow and she wants to be able to take it back. She wants to be able to go to Regina and hold her and tell her that everything will be ok but she can’t. All she can do is stand back and try and live with the damage she has done.

“I want to see him. He deserves to hear my side of the story. He’s my son.”

Regina has raised her voice and Emma knows that it’s now or never. She races at Regina yelling, “He’s not. He’s mine. And after this you’re not getting anywhere near him. Do it!”

They play their trump card. The blue fairy throws her fairy dust but Regina is not incapacitated. Regina doesn’t even flinch as she deftly catches the orb and then wipes her hands as though she feels they have been made to touch something dirty. Emma feels a surge of pride as she watches Regina foil their plans but that pride is replaced with dread as she realises that they are no longer in control of the situation. She has no way to let Regina know that she only wants to help her. “Did you really think that would work again?” Regina asks snidely while flicking traces of dust at Mary Margaret and David. “You,” she turns to Emma and her voice is full of venom. “You will not keep my son from me.”

Regina’s hands fling out and Emma flies backwards. The move is spectacularly convincing but when Emma crashes to the ground she feels no pain. Regina has managed to both make herself a villain and protect Emma from her fall. Regina orchestrated that moment perfectly and Emma could not love her more. She looks up at Regina in awe but there is no secret exchange to be shared between the two of them, the show must go on. “So much for fairy dust,” Regina says, “Maybe some of your newfound magic can save you now.”

Emma realises that she still has a part to play and she responds, “I don’t need it. I’ve already won. There is no way Henry will swallow your lies about Archie now. You can pretend all you want, but we know who you are, and who you will always be.” Regina disappears in a cloud of smoke and even though Emma didn’t lay a hand on Regina she fears that she has permanently scarred her because before Regina vanished she looked crushed.

Regina is gone and Emma is terrified that she is lost to her forever. This was never the plan. She’s worried that all they have done is play into Cora’s hands. Regina is now isolated from the people who love her and Emma’s certain that Cora will be able to use that to her advantage. Emma is powerless to help Regina and there is nothing she can do but wait.

She tries to pretend that she is okay but she doesn’t feel like she will ever be okay again. How can she be when she is forced to listen to David and Mary Margaret talk to her about parenting and then forced to tell Henry that his mother is a murderer?

Henry’s face crumples and he collapses into her arms. She tries to comfort him as best she can but she can’t fight the feeling that everything has gone horribly, horribly wrong.


End file.
